On March 20, 2009 I was in Etna, California and was directed to a beautiful drive around the Marble Mountain Wilderness on Hwy 96. (Off 299) I was scouting the Klamath and Salmon Rivers for an upcoming trip.  Etna is a city in the Scott Valley area of Siskiyou County, California

I stopped several times along the way and was traveling on 96 from Etna back west, north, then northeast toward Yreka, my destination.  It was about a mile passed an area called Clear Creek but before the town of Happy Camp where I saw what first I thought was a large man crossing Hwy 96 from my left to my right; he was roughly 300 yards ahead of me. It was that time of day when the sun was setting but still plenty of light to see clearly. Complete darkness would be dark in about an hour.

I couldn't believe the size of him/it; he had to be 6 -1/2 feet tall but thick, he was huge.
I am 6'-4" and 250 lbs, he/it was at least double my bulk; long thick arms with legs like a hockey goalie. His head was thick at the bottom, not much visible neck and broad shoulders. I couldn't make out any detailed facial features.  It looked my way as I approached but he never stopped crossing the road in a few strides. As I got to the spot where he crossed, I slowed.  I saw him on the road for about 4-5 seconds as I drove up to where he was.

I can tell you I was in some kind of shock. My hands were cold, I had goose bumps and my heart was racing. I have seen the Patterson film, and grew up camping all over that part of the state. I have heard tons of stories, read all kinds of reports and really want to believe he exists but I'm also a realist. The view I had was similar to the profile of "Patty".

It would be nice to have someone find solid proof or a body but at the same time that kills some of the allure of the whole thing.  I always had the fantasy of seeing one and in these few seconds those thoughts raced through my head.

I pulled up slowly on the right side of the road and there he was. I got a glimpse of him for about 2 seconds from only 30' away and up the hill a tad. When my truck actually stopped, he was gone into the trees and just seemed to disappear. That fast.

The sight of this creature left me shaking and feeling queasy. I opened my door a tad and actually threw up. I can't overstate the shock and unease I felt initially. It's like everything you know gets turned upside down. The fact that I was there to see this, to be one of the lucky ones was very overwhelming but I was able to get out of the truck where I felt an immense calm. There was no fear and I felt no sense of danger.

I couldn't possibly follow it through that thick growth and about 3-4 minutes had lapsed. I saw no distinct tracks in the pine straw. I crossed the road to where he came up, and saw no distinct prints but could see where he had stepped. I went back to my truck and stood and listened, but that was it.  No smell, no sound and I had no camera; my phone is just a phone.  I sat in my truck, made a few notes and just replayed the whole encounter over and over. I sat there for about a half hour, got myself together and then drove on to Yreka.

One of the things I thought about was that with all the reports, all the sightings, is that if just ONE of them is real, then Bigfoot MUST exist.  Could it have been a hoaxer? Sure. That's a good way to get shot, I'm sure, but I thought about it. An accomplice up the road a ways alerts the hoaxer and he crosses far enough ahead to give little detail, but plenty enough to freak someone out. I figured that much could have happened but it's hard for me to think some guy in a suit could have moved up the hill and through the trees easily. Maybe he just hung out up there, thus the silence and could have given himself up had I had the guts to follow.  I don't know. Seems like everyone up there has a gun and you'd have to be pretty stupid or supremely confident to try and pull that off.
From: Al

Two stories from my friend Ed - #1:  I have a friend who lives in Montague just south of Weed, California; he has had an encounter of his own. His name is Ed and he is a kindly gent, the very salt of the earth. He wouldn't know a computer if he tripped over one. I'll be speaking with him tonight, and will transcribe and forward his sightings report.  There were two, one in the Marble Mountain Wilderness and one by Weitchpec, California. The Marble Mtn incident was a couple of years ago, the other in the year 2000 or so.  Here is the first one:

Weitchpec is in Humboldt County, in the Eureka-Arcata-Fortuna metro area.  The community name derives from Indian term for "confluence" April of 2000, late afternoon

We were by Weitchpec, just across the river at the intersection of Tully Creek Rd, Bald Hills Road, and Pine Creek Road; the two of us in a truck, panning for gold, fishing, and just enjoying the day. No fish, no color, but we had a great day.

We had never driven up Bald Hills Rd before, it zig zags a lot while heading in a generally west direction. A few turns up that road my friend Mel stopped the truck and said "what the hell is that,” while pointing to his left into the trees.  There, big as life, about 50 feet away was a large hairy man, least that's what I thought. Then I thought bear, but bears don't stand like that for long and this was definitely more man-shaped. I have heard all the legends, but you never figure you'll be staring at a Bigfoot. I couldn't bring myself around to believe that.

It was not as tall as I have heard, probably less than 6 ft, but had a stocky thick build, and long arms; perhaps a young one.  It looked at us for maybe 20 seconds, then turned and walked further into the trees. We never felt threatened; we just thought he was as curious about us as we were of him, that's it. We got out of the truck, and looked for prints, and while there were footmarks, nothing that qualifies as a clear print was visible.

Mel wandered a hundred feet or so into the trees, but retreated. We didn't have any guns with us, and we thought it best to just get out of there.

Mel knows an Indian man named Bo from near there; I believe he said he was Karuk
whom he called that night. Bo said that there were many sightings by his people and others in that general area. The Native Americans don't get as hot and bothered by Bigfoot as whites. He was calm and straightforward when he told us of other sightings. I know this was not a bear, I can't believe it was a man, because the hair and walking motion were so natural looking. Suits wrinkle and hang funny on a person. This was all very uniform and real looking. From Ed in Montague, California May 2009

Story #2:
And this happening in September of 2006 -- Four of us were camping in the Marble Mountain Wilderness after Labor Day and had pitched camp by Turk Lake.

My friend Al used to be a guide with the Sierra Club, but now just hikes with friends
and doesn't guide professionally anymore. While I was getting breakfast together, he was across the way a few hundred yards fishing.  He came back to camp saying he heard someone or something moving in the trees behind him.  He was uncomfortable and returned to camp. We ate then all of us went back to where he had been and split into
two pairs.

I was with Barry; we went into the trees where Al said he heard the noise. Al and Kim went further north, then into the woods also.  I suspect we were something like a quarter mile apart. We didn't know if we were looking for people, elk, whatever. Al just had a look about him; he never said anything about a Bigfoot, knowing I had seen one 6 years back in an area not too far from here. I had a feeling he didn't want to alarm anyone.

We stopped to look around, as you can't be looking up while hiking in those trees, you'll trip up.  So every few moments we would stop to look around. Barry and I were side-by-side when we heard what sounded like a shriek or whistle. It seemed to be coming from nearby. At the same instant, we saw brush moving about 200' away and for about 5 seconds both of us saw the head, shoulders and stomach of what I now believe to be bigfoot.

He was looking in our direction; it just froze in place. In a few seconds he continued forward into more brush and then was gone. We could hear him moving through the brush for a few seconds; it sounded like he was really moving.

Then it was silent and we both sat for a second to gather ourselves. Barry was sitting there, head down, shaking saying, " I can't believe I saw Bigfoot, I can't believe I saw Bigfoot. I just can't %^$#ing believe it!"

We figured if they were dangerous, they might make a move on us, but they seem to be cautious and not aggressive from what I have read and now seen.

We caught up with Al and Kim and related our story. Al has been in many situations where he swears he heard them but never saw them.

He has heard the grunts, screams and what he describes a 'conversation" between two creatures a couple of hundred yards apart near Bluff Creek.

Every time I'm in the woods I know I have a chance to see one again. Everyone in the woods should stop ever so often and take a good long look around, not just near you but further out.
Ed in Montague, California May 2009

Back to stories?
Back to Bigfoot Encounters Main page
Back to Newspaper & Magazine Articles
Back to Bigfoot Encounters "What's New" page

Portions of this website are reprinted and sometimes edited to fit the standards of this website
under the Fair Use Doctrine of International Copyright Law
as educational material without benefit of financial gain.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
This proviso is applicable throughout the entire Bigfoot Encounters Website.